New World very nearly doused its own flame before even leaving alpha. With the game’s last major alpha update, the devs elected to test a number of things including the in-game cash shop, which according to some in-game notes (that were shared despite being under NDA) would include cosmetics and “quality-of-life items or boosts that will help players improve the time spent leveling up their character and trade skill experience.”
Despite that same notice stating an intention that the devs would focus on keeping the game “competitive” and purchases wouldn’t provide an edge, many players immediately lit their torches and grabbed their pitchforks as near-universal revulsion of the proposed boost items spread across Reddit, with players either refunding their purchase due to P2W complaints or calling on Amazon Game Studios to remove boost items from the store completely.
The game’s official Twitter put out a statement saying, “At launch all of the items in the shop will be focused on cosmetics. There will be no boosts of any type for sale at launch,” along with a promise that the devs would share their microtransaction plans soon. The announcement was met with almost immediate skepticism, but at least it would appear that the furor was heard.
We are aware that there are concerns around the storefront testing currently in Alpha. To be clear, at launch all of the items in the shop will be focused on cosmetics. There will be no boosts of any type for sale at launch. We will share more on our vision for MTX soon.
— New World (@playnewworld) May 13, 2021
Please read this letter regarding the storefront testing we are currently doing in Alpha. pic.twitter.com/IucMciGWC1
— New World (@playnewworld) May 15, 2021
